Articulated pusher ram for coke ovens



WETHLY 3,501,383

ARTICULATED PUSHER RAM FOR COKE OVENS 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 March 17, 1970 Filed Nov. 24, 1967 FIG I.

INVENTOR.

FRANS WETH LY ATTORNEY March 17, 1970 F. WETHLY 3,

ARTICULATED PUSHER RAM FOR COKE OVENS Filed Nov. 24, 1967 3 Sheets-Sheet '2 FIG. 2.

INVENTOR.

FR ANS WETH LY ATTORNEY v March 17, 1970 F. WETHLY 3,501,383

ARTICULATED PUSHER RAM FOR COKE OVENS Filed Nov. 24, 1967 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 I NVENTOR.

FRANS WET LY ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,501,383 ARTICULATED PUSHER RAM FOR COKE OVENS Frans Wethly, Manhasset, N .Y., assignor to Allied Chem- US. Cl. 202262 7 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This application relates to an articulated pusher ram construction for use in expelling coke from coke ovens. The ram is horizontally reciprocable and is driven by a pinion engaging with a rack on the top of the ram. The ram comprises a forward section and a rear section pivotally connected thereto. As the ram is retracted from an oven a slot on the rear section engages a pivotable constraining linkage which causes the rear section to pivot upwardly into a substantially vertical position. A thrust roller is provided on top of the ram adjacent and to the rear of the pinion to prevent undesirable vertical movement of the rear section of the ram when the ram is in its extended position, thus allowing further extension of the ram than has heretofore been possible and consequentl also allowing use of a shorter ram.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the invention This application relates broadly to pusher rams the type used to expel coke from coke ovens.

A coke oven battery comprises a number of long, narrow relatively high coking chambers positioned side by side. Each chamber is closed on each nd by a retractable door. A charge of coal is admitted into the top of the oven and is transformed into coke by heating it with hot gases. When the transformation to coke has been completed, the doors at both ends of the chamber are retracted and a pusher ram is introduced into the chamher, where a head on the ram contacts the coke and pushes it out the other end of the chamber as the ram moves forward.

The pusher ram is carried on a pusher machine which operates on rails in a direction parallel to the face of the coke oven battery so that the ram may be moved from oven to oven. The pusher ram is horizontally reci rocable on the pusher machine so as to be movable into and out of the chambers of the coke oven.

When the pusher ram is in its retracted position the head of the ram is located a short distance from the face of the battery. The ram must be long enough for the head thereof to be moved from this position complete y through the oven chamber and also substantially through a coke guide which is positioned at the opposite end of the chamber. In order for the pusher ram to have the necessary range of motion, the ram must be longer than a coking chamber and therefore must be relatively long. Accordingly, a relatively long space must be provided on the pusher side of the coke oven battery to permit the pusher ram to be fully retracted from the battery. In many cases, because of the position of existing buildings or other structures, it is not possible to provide enough space on the pusher side of the coke oven battery to permit full retraction of a one-piece pusher ram thus an articulated pusher ram must be used. It is highly desirable, even -with an articulated pusher ram, that the ram be as short as possible so as to allow installation of coke ovens in confined spaces which were previously unusab e for this purpose.

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Description of the prior art It is known in the coke oven art to use an articulated pusher ram having a pivoted rear section which, upon retraction, swings downward into a substantially vertical position so as to permit retraction into a horizontal space shorter than the extended length of the pusher ram. However, such constructions have the following disadvantages:

(1) They are driven from below by rack and pinion means, and because they are so driven the pinion means must be sufficiently spaced from the face of the coke oven battery so that the supporting shoe which is used on the forward portion of the bottom of the ram will not be retracted into the pinion, thus, requiring a relatively long ram,

(2) They require elaborate and cumbersome track means in order to guide the rear portion of the articulated ram into its substantially vertical position.

I have now developed an articulated pusher ram construction including drive means and thrust roller means, which permits the use of a shorter articulated pusher ram by mounting the drive means on top of the pusher ram in a position very close to the face of the coke oven battery. My novel construction also comprises a simple constraining linkage which permits elimination of the track means formerly required for moving the rear portion of the articulated ram into its substantially vertica retracted position.

SUMMARY It is an object of this invention to provide a pusher ram of such a construction that it can be retracted into a horizontal space which is substantially shorter than the full extended length of the ram.

Another object of this invention is to provide an articulated pusher ram construction which will permit use of a shorter retraction space than prior art constructions.

A further object of this invention is to provide an articulated pusher ram construction wherein a rear portion of the articulated pusher ram can be moved into a nearly vertical position without requiring cumbersome and elaborate track means.

Other and further objects of this invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from a reading of the following specification and claims.

My new pusher ram construction comprises drive means mounted on top of the ram and ahead of the position of the pusher ram supporting shoe when the ram is in the retracted position. It also comprises a rear section which can pivot upwardly and which is slotted in such a manner as to engage, during its rearward travel, a pivoted constraining linkage which acts to swing the section upward into a substantially vertical position. It further comprises thrust roller means adjacent to and rearward of said drive means which act upon the upper surface of said pusher ram in such a manner as to prevent upward pivoting of the rear section thereof while said ram is substantially in its fully extended position, thus permitting further extension of said ram than has heretofore been possible and consequently allowing use of a shorter ram.

My novel pusher ram construction thus has the advantages that:

1) A shorter articulated pusher ram than prior art constructions can be used, thus allowing operation in shorter spaces than could be used previously, and

(2) The rear section of the ram can be pivoted into a substantially vertical position without the use of elaborate track means, thus allowing elimination of the track means with consequent savings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIGURE 1 of the drawings is an elevation view, partly in section, of a coke oven and its adjacent pusher ram 3 construction, shown with the pusher ram in its extended position.

FIGURE 2 is an elevation view, partly in section, of the same structure as FIGURE 1 but with the pusher ram in retracted position.

FIGURE 3 is a detail view, partly in section of the ram drive and support means of FIGURES 1 and 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION My novel pusher ram construction will be more specifically described by reference to the above-mentioned drawings, on which like reference numerals have been used to describe like parts.

Referring to FIGURE 1, there is shown a cross-section of a coke oven battery which includes a series of horizontal coking chambers such as the one shown at 10. The chamber has a sole 11 and a roof 12 through which extends an offtake opening 14. At each end of the coking chamber are doors (not shown) in frames 15, the doors being retractable by means not shown. At the exit end of the coke oven chamberis a coke guide 16 and a quenching car 17. At the right-hand end of the coking chamber is a pusher ram construction which comprises a pusher ram 18 having a head 19' on the forward end thereof. The ram is reciprocable into and out of the coking chamber by means of drive means comprising a rack 19 mounted on top of ram 18 and a pinion 20 meshing with said rack, the latter being driven by suitable means 21. On the bottom of the pusher ram is a supporting shoe 22 which serves as a skid upon which the pusher ram is supported when the ram is in its extended position.

Immediately to the rear of pinion 20 are thrust means consisting of thrust rollers 23 (see also FIGURE 3), the function of which will be explained later. The pusher ram is supported from below 'by support rollers such as those shown at 24. These rollers are shown in more detail on FIGURE 3. Except for the forwardmost support rollers 24', the rollers are mounted in pairs with an axle between each pair. Rollers 24' are also mounted in pairs but no axle extends through each pair, since supporting shoe 22 must when it is retracted pass between each pair of rollers 24' (note FIGURE 2). The rollers in turn are supported by an undercarriage 25 which is mounted on flanged wheels 26 which roll on rails 26' so as to enable the pusher ram to traverse the face of the coke oven battery when the ram is in its retracted position.

The pusher ram '18 consists of a forward section 27 and a rear section 28 which are joined by a plate 29 on each side of the ram. The plates are movably attached to forward section 27 of the pusher ram by means of a pin 30 and are fixedly attached to rear section 28 of the ram by welding or other suitable attaching technique. The right-hand end of rear section 28 of the pusher ram isprovided with engagement means in the form of a notch as shown at 32 for a purpose that will be explained later.

Mounted on undercarriage 25 at 33 is a superstructure 34 which carries pivotable constraining linkage means consisting of member 35 which is pivoted at 36 to superstructure 34 and carries a cross-pin thereon at 37. Member 35 can swing in an are between an upraised position, as indicated in dashed lines on FIGURE 1, and a lowermost position, indicated in solid lines on the same figure. Member 35 is constrained from swinging any lower than the position shown in solid lines on FIGURE 1 by a stop member 38 attached to superstructure 34.

When the pusher ram 18 is retracted from the oven by rack 19 and pinion 20, its rear section 28 moves to the right until cross-pin 37 engages slot 32. Following this engagement the ram 18 continues its rearward travel but section 28 of the ram is constrained by member 35 to move in an upward arc until it reaches the position shown in dashed lines on FIGURE 1. In this novel manner the rear section of the articulated pusher ram is retracted into a substantially vertical position without the use of elaborate and cumbersome tracks of the type used in th prior art.

Referring more particularly to FIGURE 2 this figure shows the pusher ram 18 in its fully retracted position.

FIGURE 3 is a detail View partly in section showing rack 19 and pinion 20 which drive the pusher ram 18, support rollers 24 and 24 which support the underside thereof, and thrust rollers 23 which bear on the upper portion thereof. Thrust rollers 23 can bear upon rack 19 itself, but preferably the ram is so constructed that the thrust rollers bear upon separate surfaces 40 of the pusher ram. Surfaces 40 are supported by bracket members such as those shown at 42.

One of the salient features of this invention is the positioning of pinion 20 on top of the pusher ram and closely adjacent the face 43 of the coke oven battery. Such positioning allows the use of a substantially shorter pusher ram than prior art articulated rams, which have been driven by rack and pinion means positioned below the ram, since in such prior art constructions the rack and pinion had to be kept behind the retracted position of supporting shoe 22, thus requiring a longer pusher ram. The positioning of the pinion used in our invention is permitted by the use of thrust rollers 23 positioned closely adjacent and to the rear of pinion 20 so as to bear on the top side of the pusher ram, for example at 40. When the break 44 (see FIG. 1), which separates sections 27 and 28 of the pusher ram, passes between the pinion 20 and thrust rollers 23 the top side of the pusher ram is supported on both sides of the break and rear section 28 will not move vertically.

While the invention has been described with particular reference to a specific embodiment, it is to be understood that it is not to be limited thereto but is to be construed broadly and restricted solely by the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a pusher ram construction having a reciprocable anticulated pusher ram for expelling coke from a coke oven, said ram having extended and retracted positions, said ram comprising pivotally connected forward and rear sections, said forward section having a supporting shoe on the underside thereof for supporting said pusher ram when it is extended into the oven, the improvements comprising:

(a) drive means comprising a rack and pinion on the top of said pusher ram for reciprocating said ram, said drive means being positioned between said supporting shoe and the face of the coke oven when said pusher ram is in its retracted position,

(b) thrust means positioned on top of said ram closely adjacent said drive means so as to exert force on the rear section when the break in said articulated ram is between the drive and the thrust means, thereby preventing undesirable vertical movement of the rear section while said ram is substantially in its extended position,

(0) engagement means in the rear section of said pusher ram, and

(d) pivotable constraining linkage means mounted on said pusher ram construction for engagement with said engagement means of said rear section so as to constrain said rear section to move to a substan tially vertical position during rearward travel of said pusher ram while said engagement and linkage means are engaged.

2. The pusher ram construction of claim 1 wherein the engagement means are in the rear end of the rear sec tion of the pusher ram.

3. The pusher ram construction of claim 2 wherein said thrust means comprise at least one roller, said engagement means comprise a slot, and said pivotable constraining linkage means comprises a pivotable member having cross-pin means positioned for engagement with said slot.

4. The pusher ram construction of claim 3 wherein said rear section pivots upwardly from said forward section.

5. In a pusher ram construction having a reciprocable articulated pusher ram comprising pivotably connected for-ward and rear sections for expelling coke from a coke oven, said ram having extended and retracted positions, said ram having a supporting shoe on the underside thereof for supporting said pusher ram when it is extended into the oven, the improvement comprising drive means comprising a rack and pinion on the top of the said pusher ram for reciprocating said ram, said drive means being positioned between said supporting shoe and the face of the coke oven when said pusher ram is in its retracted position.

6. The pusher ram construction of claim 5 wherein said supporting shoe is mounted on said forward section, and said construction further comprises thrust means positioned on top of said ram closely adjacent said drive means so as to prevent undesirable vertical movement of the rear section while said ram is substantially in its extended position.

7. The pusher ram construction of claim 7 wherein said thrust means comprises at least one roller.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 695,970 3/1902 Trump 21423 XR 959,246 5/1910 Moore 214-34 2,609,948 9/1952 Lavely 214--23 3,272,356 9/1966 Lovetro 21423 NORMAN YUDKOFF, Primary Examiner 15 DAVID EDWARDS, Assistant Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R. 214-34 

